The word aldehyde seems to have arisen from alcohol dehydrogenated. In the past, aldehydes were sometimes named after the corresponding alcohols, for example, vinous aldehyde for acetaldehyde. (Vinous is from Latinvinum = wine, the traditional source of ethanol; compare vinyl.)

Nomenclature

IUPAC names for aldehydes

Acyclic aliphatic aldehydes are named as derivatives of the longest carbon chain containing the aldehyde group. Thus, HCHO is named as a derivative of methane, and CH3CH2CH2CHO is named as a derivative of butane. The name is formed by changing the suffix -e of the parent alkane to -al, so that HCHO is named methanal, and CH3CH2CH2CHO is named butanal.

In other cases, such as when a -CHO group is attached to a ring, the suffix -carbaldehyde may be used. Thus, C6H11CHO is known as cyclohexanecarbaldehyde. If the presence of another functional group demands the use of a suffix, the aldehyde group is named with the prefix formyl-. This prefix is preferred to methanoyl-.

If the compound is a natural product or a carboxylic acid, the prefix oxo- may be used to indicate which carbon atom is part of the aldehyde group; for example, CHOCH2COOH is named 3-oxopropanoic acid.

If replacing the aldehyde group with a carboxyl (-COOH) group would yield a carboxylic acid with a trivial name, the aldehyde may be named by replacing the suffix -ic acid or -oic acid in this trivial name by -aldehyde. For example:

Other nomenclature

The carbon atom adjacent to a carbonyl group is called the α carbon. Carbon atoms further away from
the group may be named β for the carbon atom bonded to the α carbon, γ for the next, and so on.
Hydrogen atoms bonded to these carbon atoms are named likewise:
an α hydrogen is a hydrogen atom bonded to the α carbon and so on.

* Reacting an alkene (if there is a vinylic hydrogen) with ozone will form an ozonide (an unstable, explosive intermediate), which yields an aldehyde upon reduction with zinc and acid at reduced temperatures. This process is called ozonolysis.

Another oxidation reaction is the silver mirror test. In this test, an aldehyde is treated with Tollens' reagent, which is prepared by adding a drop of sodium hydroxide solution into silver nitrate solution to give a precipitate of silver(I) oxide, and then adding just enough dilute ammonia solution to redissolve the precipitate in aqueous ammonia to produce [Ag(NH3)2]+ complex. This reagent will convert aldehydes to carboxylic acids without attacking carbon-carbon double-bonds. The name silver mirror test arises because this reaction will produce a precipitate of silver whose presence can be used to test for the presence of an aldehyde.

If the aldehyde can not form an enolate (e.g. benzaldehyde), addition of strong base causes the Cannizzaro reaction to occur, producing a mixture of alcohol and carboxylic acid.

Nucleophilic addition reactions

In nucleophilic addition reactions a nucleophile can add to the carbon atom in the carbonyl group, yielding an addition compound in which this carbon atom has tetrahedral molecular geometry. Together with protonation of the oxygen atom in the carbonyl group (which can take place either before or after addition); this yields a product where the carbon atom in the carbonyl group is bonded to the nucleophile, a hydrogen atom, and a hydroxyl group.

In the acetalisation reaction, under acidic or basic conditions, an alcohol adds to the carbonyl group and a proton is transferred to form a hemiacetal. Under acidic conditions, the hemiacetal and the alcohol can further react to form an acetal and water. Simple hemiacetals are usually unstable, although cyclic ones such as glucose can be stable. Acetals are stable, but revert to the aldehyde in the presence of acid.

Aldehydes can react with water (under acidic or basic conditions) to form hydrates, R-C(H)(OH)(OH), although these are only stable when strong electron withdrawing groups are present, as in chloral hydrate. The mechanism is identical to hemiacetal formation.

In alkylimino-de-oxo-bisubstitution, a primary or secondary amine adds to the carbonyl group and a proton is transferred from the nitrogen to the oxygen atom to create a carbinolamine. In the case of a primary amine, a water molecule can be eliminated from the carbinolamine to yield an imine. This reaction is catalyzed by acid.

The cyano group in HCN can add to the carbonyl group to form cyanohydrins, R-C(H)(OH)(CN).

More complex reactions

If an aldehyde is converted to a simple hydrazone (RCH=NHNH2) and this is heated with a base such as KOH, the terminal carbon is fully reduced via the Wolff-Kischner reaction to a methyl group. The Wolff-Kishner reaction may be performed as a one-pot reaction, giving the overall conversion RCH=O → RCH3.